A self-appointed bug in childhood, this woman now finds many a thing to have a beef with.
Really, though, it's the only alliterative title that I could live with at the time of blog conception. LoonieLizzie was too self deprecating; EccentricElizabeth had too many syllables.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Oh boy, I could write pages and pages on why I'm choosing a midwife. But I'm squeezing this post in before a morning stroll with my sweet son, so I'll try to keep it short. Perhaps I'll expound more later.

If I take my paragraphs of thoughts and condense them down to one sentence, it is this: I'm using a midwife because the philosophy and approach to care of midwives is patient-centered. Now, on the off-chance that a physician reads this and becomes outraged, I would like to clarify a bit. Medical doctors are not evil. This world as a whole, and my life in particular, would be less vibrant without the contributions of doctors. The philosophy of medicine, however, is disease-centered.

Pregnancy is not a disease. Labor and delivery are not disease processes. They are normal functions of health that increase the risk of certain diseases. If I were to develop a disease during my pregnancy I would seek the assistance of a physician. If my labor or delivery lead to an emergency, I will accept care from a doctor. But since I'm not sick, I'm not going to a doctor.

Those are all the rational reasons that make my voice carry a little more weight with those who disagree with me. Now for the raw thoughts that few dissenters respect: my labor and delivery were traumatic. There were many irritations during prenatal care, but let's skip to the fireworks. While I was in labor I received 7 needle sticks to place an unnecessary IV. My already extraordinary pain was increased when I was forced to lie down for a pelvic exam. When it was discovered that I was, in fact, dilated to 10cm like I said I was, people started yelling at me to not push. Once the doctor arrived, the commands changed to "push!" I delivered while lying on my back. My perineum ripped apart. While nurses were putting unnecessary antibiotics in my newborn's eyes the doctor shoved a needle into my vagina. She didn't ask me if I wanted the block. She didn't warn me. She just stabbed.